Well, you can bank on this man (Virraj Jatania), and why not – when big names like Sir Alex Ferguson is investing in him. Alex, the legendary Manchester United manager, is an investor in Pockit, a fintech start-up – co-founded by 28-year-old Virraj Jatania – offering banking services to the poorest people in society. Virraj wants to give those with restricted access to bank services the same advantages that most in society enjoy, including lower bills.
An estimated four million people are excluded from mainstream banking, which can make life expensive. Pockit aims to fill the gap. In short, it is a start-up targeting those excluded from mainstream banking. The start-up has transacted over £100 million in the last year alone. Pockit, founded in 2009, has had a decent run, picking up 100,000 customers since it began trading in 2014. The start-up charges a set-up fee of 99p. Salaries or cash can be paid in by bank transfer or at 28,000 PayPoint locations around the UK. Household bills can be paid and money can be transferred to other accounts.
Pockit does not have a banking licence, instead using a cheaper but more restrictive e-money licence. Pockit has raised £6 million. Its investors include Virraj's family, Concentric Ventures, the venture capital firm, Jon Moulton and Mark Newton-Jones, chief executive of Mothercare. Virraj's family set up the Lornamead Group, a multinational skincare and soap business originating in Nigeria that they built up and were said to have made $190 million when they sold Lornamead in 2012. They were among the thousands of Asians expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin in 1972.
Virraj says that by the end of 2016 Pockit account-holders will be able to set up direct debits and to send remittances abroad, while “low-cost” overdrafts and insurance products will be added next year. What sets Pockit apart is its social goal. Pockit is exclusively focused on the so-called “unbanked” — people shut out of the mainstream banking sector for one reason or another.
